FS 432: Planning Agroforestry Projects

Natural Resources Librarian
Know how to find and evaluate quality writing on your topic.

Remember you are looking for evidence in the form of scientific findings to support your paper so use multiple resources. Google Scholar is useful but it is only one tool.

Library databases may take more effort, but they will also result in a better final product because they "index" a high proportion of the peer reviewed literature, cover definable time periods, and have a well defined scope of interest. The process of peer-review (sometimes called "refereeing") is discipline and journal specific. It is a well established process for assuring that articles accepted for publication in these journals represent good scientific methodology and are a contribution to the literature of that field of study. While you may run across peer reviewed material on the web, it tends to be the exception rather than the rule (in part because of the volume of material on the web). If in doubt about whether a journal contains peer reviewed articles, ask.

Most databases noted on this guide index a high percentage of "refereed" journals and therefore a high percentage of peer reviewed articles. They may also include first hand reporting of research findings or state-of-the-art reviews from other sources such as non-governmental organizations or federal agency reports, dissertations, conference proceedings, professional journals, etc. These do not fall in the "peer reviewed" category but can be excellent resources nonetheless.

 

Course Instructor
Accessing library databases

The Library purchases access to "indexing" databases in order for you to identify articles on specific topics. These databases are independent of the holdings of any one library.

To locate references to articles in the scientific literature using these databases, begin at the OSU Libraries home page: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu. Click on "Databases," and then on the first letter of the name of the database you want to use.  Because they are not all provided on the same web "platform" you cannot (with a few exceptions) search across several databases as once.

Most databases are not freely available to the public.   They are licensed to the library for OSU use.  If you are not on campus, you will encounter our "proxy server" asking you to "authenticate" yourself as a qualified OSU user by entering your name and (new) OSU ID number.  Apart from this, you should never be asked for an username and password while attempting to use a database.   If you are asked for one, this is usually an indication that the ports are busy.  Just try again later.

Course Assignment
Finding Articles in the Agroforestry Literature: selecting a database

When considering a database, it is important to be aware of its content including:

This is usually available in the short descriptions available on the database listing indicated by an symbol for database information .  It is tempting to limit yourself to indexes that provide a lot of full-text coverage but you do this at your own risk.  The point of indexes is to show you what is available and if it is not available here at OSU, the library will do everything it can to borrow what you need from another library. 

Follow the link to "read more" below for some database recommendations.   

Planning Ahead

You have 8 weeks to complete this project. Use the first three to your advantage and start your research early. Follow the "read more" link below for one approach you might take.

 

Things to know about databases before you do your first search

If you are new to database searching or haven't searched for a year or so, follow the "read more" link below for some tips and troubleshooting advice.

OSU Libraries on the Web

Be sure you can locate the the OSU Libraries Home Page and from there find these three links

OSU Libraries Catalog

Databases

E-Journals

Also look for the links to "Get help with a subject" and "Get help with a class" (see the navigation bar to the left).

In addition, the suggestions below are not specific to this class but you may find them interesting.

Obtaining journal articles from OSU Libraries
  1. Get This Item: Many of the databases listed above contain a button called "Get This Item" or "Webbridge."   Using this link will open a window with links to the library catalog and to the e-journal list so you can investigate the availability of the source journal.  In the ideal case, it will result in a direct link to the full-text of the article.
  2. E-Journal list: If you have a reference and want to see if OSU Libraries subscribes to the electronic version of that journal (or some service that provides the full-text from that journal), click the E-Journals link on the Library's home page and type in the name of the journal that you need. If the article you need is not available from the E-Journals list, then try the catalog.
  3. Online Catalog: Search the online catalog (limit to "journals") to see if the library has a paper copy of the journal. You can then photocopy the article. Most bound journals circulate for three days. Unbound journals do not circulate outside the library.
  4. ** If you choose, you can try a Google Advanced Search.   It is best to search the title of the article as an exact phrase). This is a long shot so if it doesn't work immediately, a better use of you time is checking to see if the library has the journal in some format and if not, filling out the interlibrary loan request form. If you decide to post your own articles to the web, be sure that you know what copyright restrictions apply by contacting the publisher. When this is allowed, it is more often the case that you are allowed post the pre-formated version (of your own articles only) but not the final journal formated version.
  5. As a graduate student, you should expect that OSU Libraries will not subscribe to or own every journals you need. You will need to use Interlibrary loan to obtain the articles.
Interlibrary Loans (ILL)

You can get a copy of any journal article not available at OSU Libraries by using Interlibrary Loan (ILL).  This service is free to you.

You must have an ONID account to register for ILL.  From the OSU Libraries catalog, look for the link to Interlibrary Loan  and select "Log on for ILL Service."  Consider registering now, before you actually need to request an article.

We are able to obtain the majority of requested articles within 5-7 days depending on the number of libraries owning the journal.   Some requests take more time some take less.  On the rare occasion that the Library is unable to identify a lending library, we will try to get the information you will need to contact the author directly. 

Articles usually come as PDF files that are sent you a secure website for your use.  You can also use ILL to request books (or chapters of books) if you are unable to locate then in the Summit catalog.

Useful Websites for Agroforestry

Follow the "read more" link below for a listing of websites you may find useful in providing references for your paper and for acquiring background information. Consider each as one of many tools available to you and don't limit yourself to that site. If you use information from these or other websites in your paper, be sure to cite the source using an appropriate format (consider looking at the Style Guide for BioScience), pages 9-13.